Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, Victiv, and Yahoo 8/10/15

It's a nice small Monday slate after a huge weekend. A good time to catch your breath, and cash in on great values where the mistakes your opponents make will be larger. That said, it's still going to be impossible to give you every single play that our projection system likes.

If you want the rest? Go ahead and get access to the exclusive projection system that produces these picks. Sign up now and get a free 3 day trial to our lineup construction tool for FanDuel, DraftKings, Victiv, and Yahoo.

Pitchers

Chris Sale - FD 11100 DK 12000 Victiv Yahoo
Opponent- LAA (Shoemaker) R Park- @Cws
Tonight's slate is a very interesting one for pitchers. I'll start by saying that on a points per dollar basis, Sale's projection is about as low as I like to see when targeting a big money pitcher on a given slate. The question is - if you don't take Sale, who are you going with in your double-ups? I think there are a few interesting cheaper options, but it might be hard to get the rest of your money in in a safe way. And this is after two pretty disastrous starts for the White Sox ace. So what gives? Well, in spite of the Angels possessing a few huge right handed bats, they've actually been pretty crappy against left handed pitching this season. Their .299 wOBA against lefties ranks 22nd in the majors, and outside of Mike Trout, they really don't have another hitter that's been better than league average for their position against lefties. This ought to make it a pretty high floor match-up for Sale, even if his upside is limited by the Angels' resistance to striking out.

Rubby De La Rosa - FD 7100 DK 7500 Victiv Yahoo
Opponent- Phi (Harang) R Park- @Ari
If you're interested in an off-beat punt for your tournaments, consider Rubby. Sure, he's got a bizarre first name, but I'll ask you to look past that for a moment. The 26 year old righty has upped his K% while decreasing his BB%, and if it weren't for a random doubling of his home run to fly ball rate, he'd probably be closer to the mid-threes in ERA, as opposed to the mid 4s where he sits now. Is he an ace? Oh, no. He ain't. But in three of his last 10 starts, he's put up 16 or more fantasy points on FanDuel, which is upside you'll take from a guy at his salary. As for the match-up, you can certainly call it favorable. The Phils have the 2nd lowest wOBA in the majors against right handed pitching, and the luster is off Aaron Harang to the point where the D-Backs should have a good shot at helping de la Rosa secure a win as well. It's a play for big tourneys, but a fair gamble from where I'm sitting.

Another off-board play? How about Brett Anderson. You may not be aware that Anderson is on track to go wire to wire with the league's highest ground-ball percentage. His 66% number is 3% higher than 2nd place, and 9% higher than 4th place. The guy's a ground-ball machine. Meanwhile, the Nats are in the bottom half of the league in wOBA against lefties, and the top half of the league in K%. One you can consider if you can't stomach the price tag on Sale.

Just killing time until fantasy football season? Fantasy Pros has a pretty cool mock drafting software you can check out!

Catchers

Derek Norris - FD 2400 DK 3400 Victiv 3900 Yahoo 13
Opponent- Cin (Holmberg) L Park- @Sd
Norris can be had at near-minimum prices, which makes sense, because he's sort of playing like a near-minimum player. But our projection system would have you hold a steady hand. The 26 year old has an .833 OPS against left handed pitching, and he has 50 extra base hits in 530 plate appearances against them. And then there's David Holmberg. The poor guy was struggling to get by with a 5.07 K/9 and 4.75 FIP in the minors before being sacrificially called up to get owned by major league hitters. Love Norris in all formats, if only because it's a short slate and a nice day to not have to pay up at a lousy position.

Salvador Perez - FD 2600 DK 3500 Victiv 4500 Yahoo 13
Opponent- Det (Boyd) L Park- @KC
Perez is tied for 2nd at the catcher position with 16 home runs, and he's transformed from a high floor low ceiling guy to just the opposite. He's also been about .060 OPS points better against left handed pitching for his career. Today he'll face Matt Boyd, who was actually pretty darned good in the minors before getting called up this season. Unfortunately for him, he's gotten wrecked since he came up. I like Perez for large tournaments today, but do like Norris quite a bit more.

Also considered: Travis D'Arnaud. He's been better against right handed pitching during his young career, and he'll face the young righty Jon Gray. Gray is actually quite a bit more promising than some of the arms the Rocks throw out there from night to night, but not so promising that I'm scared here.

First base

Paul Goldschmidt - FD 3700 DK 5600 Victiv 5700 Yahoo 20
Opponent- Phi (Harang) R Park- @Ari
No clue why Goldschmidt is this affordable, but it is starting to turn into a crime to not play him at first base. On one hand, Goldschmidt has been .180 OPS points better against left handed pitching this season. On the other hand, he's still been an MVP level .977 OPS against right handed pitching - a number which only goes up at home. And his price continues to fall??? Because of a 1 week slump? This is a text-book spot where you need to capitalize on great value, and while everyone will be on it - you should be, too. As for Aaron Harang, his 4.73 xFIP is the 4th worst in the majors. Goldie is a go in all formats.

Joey Votto - FD 3700 DK 4600 Victiv 5300 Yahoo 20
Opponent- SD (Kennedy) R Park- @SD
If you just feel like bucking the trends out there in a big tournament, I think Votto is pretty interesting. He's got a 1K OPS against right handed pitching this year, and 16 of his 19 homers have come against right handed pitching. Ian Kennedy is pretty overrated in general, but he is giving up nearly 2 homers per 9 innings this season - making him a good guy to target when you're shooting for upside. Again, I'll play Goldschmidt basically everywhere, but people get cranky if you only list 1 guy. So here's two!

A super cheap option could be Ryan Zimmerman against the left handed Anderson. We gave you Zimmerman against the left handed Flande last night, and he went ahead and cranked 2 homers. If the power is back, Zimmerman's price could jump by 20%. Buy low.

Second base

Anthony Rendon - FD 2900 DK 3200 Victiv 4900 Yahoo
Opponent- LAD (Anderson) L Park- @Lad
Through 311 plate appearances against left handed pitching, the 7 homers, 6 steals, and an .826 OPS. Those are damned fine numbers for a second baseman, and particularly great for $2,900 on FanDuel. Sure, I link Anderson, but his lack of K's means the high contact Rendon should put a lot of balls in play here. While he might not have elite upside, I love his points per dollar floor for 50/50s and double-ups.

Jedd Gyorko - FD 2400 DK 2700 Victiv 4000 Yahoo 12
Opponent- Cin (Holmberg) L Park- @Sd
Let's be real for a second - Gyorko has largely been a disappointment in San Diego. But you know what? He's really pretty good against lefties. His career .786 OPS and 11 homers in 311 PA is more than serviceable for the position, and of course, you have to love the near minimum price. Our projection system really, really hates David Holmberg, and if the savings here means you can go up and pay for premium pitching, it's definitely worth a look.

Shortstop

Jose Reyes - FD 2900 DK 3800 Victiv 4600 Yahoo 16
Opponent- NYM (Niese) L Park- @NYM
The hate has gone too far. Sure, he's not the player he once was, but the guy still has 4 homers and 18 steals out of the shortstop position, and bats second in front of Carlos Gonzalez and Nolan Arenado. Today he'll face his former teammate Jon Niese, whose peripherals are headed in the wrong direction even if his ERA is still reasonable. Reyes should make tons of contact, and should have some opportunity to get running in this one in front of his former home crowd. At sub $3,000 prices, I like him in any format.

Alcides Escobar - FD 2300 DK 3800 Victiv 4400 Yahoo 14
Opponent- Det (Boyd) L Park- @KC
A simple case of points per dollar floor, and opportunity. Escobar isn't much of a hitter, but the guys behind him are pretty good, and he'll be in a position platoon situation against Matt Boyd. And that's the thing with guys like Alcides - looking at his last 3 games, he's average 3 FanDuel fantasy points during that time while really doing nothing spectacular. Guys that lead off just get those kind of chances, and at bad offensive positions, you can often win just by getting away cheaply.

Third base

Yangervis Solarte - FD 3000 DK 3300 Victiv 3800 Yahoo 16
Opponent- Cin (Holmberg) L Park- @Sd
I really wish I didn't have to pay this much for a not so great hitter, but the way the position is shaking out, this looks like the direction I'll go. I like Solarte for 2 major reasons. First of all, he'll be leading off in from of a bunch of right handed hitters (Norris, Kemp, Upton) who are much better against left handed pitching. That's a lot of potential to get on base and score some runs. He's also facing David Holmberg, who is probably a nice guy, but isn't a fantastic MLB talent. I like Solarte for double-ups, but for big tournaments, I might go with

Kyle Seager - FD 3700 DK 3400 Victiv 5100 Yahoo 16
Opponent- Bal (Tillman) R Park- @Sea
Third base is sort of a train wreck today, and I'm giving you Seager with more trepidation than this recommendation suggests. This basically comes down to two things - Seager is a solid power threat (25 homer a year guy), and most of that comes against right handed pitching. Chris Tillman, meanwhile, is pretty bad. His K rate is declining, his walk rate is climbing, and his 4.49 xFIP is terrible. But I mean, if you have to choose between Seager and Goldschmidt at these prices, it should be clear where your money should go.

Outfield

Justin Upton - FD 3100 DK 4500 Victiv 5100 Yahoo 16
Opponent- Cin (Holmberg) L Park- @Sd
Matt Kemp - FD 2900 DK 3900 Victiv 5000 Yahoo 16
Opponent- Cin (Holmberg) L Park- @Sd
I suspect you probably saw this one coming. Both are better against left handed pitching, and both have the kind of power that can play anywhere against the right kind of pitching. Are they past their MVP talk primes? Yep. But theydidn't forget how to hit guys that strike out 5 guys per 9 innings. Like them both for any format.

Billy Hamilton - FD 2500 DK 3500 Victiv 4400 Yahoo 14
Opponent- SD (Kennedy) R Park- @SD
When it comes to actually hitting a baseball, Billy Hamilton leaves a lot to be desired. But the the steals potential just make him a ridiculous upside play on a $2,500 FanDuel salary. There really isn't a lot else to say here - if he gets on base once, steals a base, and scores a run you'll be thrilled to have him in any format.

Yasiel Puig - FD 2800 DK 3000 Victiv 4900 Yahoo 16
Opponent- Was (Gonzalez) L Park- @Lad
Puig hasn't delivered on the GOAT potential he flashed early in his major league career, but he does have a .900 OPS against left handed pitching this season, and his max-effort swing and hard contact still plays. Gio Gonzalez isn't the type of pitcher you stack against or anything, but like a lot of guys we're picking against today, his numbers aren't headed in the right direction. It's hard to call Puig a safety play, but on a light day for OF, you might want to consider him anywhere.

Lorenzo Cain - FD 3700 DK 5100 Victiv 5200 Yahoo 19
Opponent- Det (Boyd) L Park- @KC
I'm not overly enthusiastic about any of the big money options at outfield today, but I figured it made sense to give you at least one guy if you decide to spend up. That guy is Lorenzo Cain. The Royals' speedy outfielder is just a run-scoring machine, and he's tortured left handed pitching for a 1.029 OPS this season. He's also got sneaky power in the right spot, and a righty/lefty spot with a mistake prone young pitcher like Boyd could be one such spot.

Also considered: Jay Bruce for power potential against the right handed Ian Kennedy.

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